


See you soon

by GabOnAShore



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Death, Everybody Dies, F/M, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, I'm Sorry, Kissing, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-01-03 12:37:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21179537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabOnAShore/pseuds/GabOnAShore
Summary: You got deadly injured while helping Sadie with her revenge and all memories with Arthur keep invading your head





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I got no beta reader for this and I'm super sad and confused. Please let me know about any grammar mistakes bc my stupid impulsive ass is posting it without proper editing 
> 
> Hopefully, I'll write a sequel with some tooth rotting fluff between our two beloved ghosts, meanwhile enjoy what my angsty brain has blurted out

You hadn't seen the man behind those goddamn crates, neither the gunshot that hit you just below your ribs and sent you flying off your horse, right onto the shit covered ground of hanging dog ranch. All the filth you could possibly imagine crawled into your wound and now here you were, lying on a cot, burning in the pit of some unholy fever and feeling your own body fading into emptiness. Every beat of your heart made you aware of how life was slowly leaving your body. 

It all started when Sadie asked Arthur to come with her to the last o'driscoll hide out. You had noticed how his eyes had changed in the past few weeks, how his skin had adquired a sick appeal to it, how often he coughed, how his frame was thinner, but most of all you had noticed the blood that came along his cough fits. He was nowhere near healthy and you dreaded it could be something lethal. You pulled Sadie aside and exposed your thoughts. She was well aware of his health issues and didn't need much convincing, after all you were a decent shot and your hatred for Colm O'driscoll could almost match hers, ever since kieran's death. 

It wasn't meant to be a simple job, both of you knew. It didn't matter now whether it had been recklessness or an unholy turn of luck. Your blood had traced red paths of wasted life down your side, while your counscience would do it's best to leave your body, since it had become an uninhabitable place. 

Sadie had managed to get you back to camp, miracously preventing you from falling off the back of your beautiful mare. It had been way too much time without proper medical care, your wound exposed, an ugly entrance for death, however open and inviting. 

You were dying, head swarming in that familiar putrid sea of pain sepsis produced. In the brief moments of clarity you had, your mind would drift to it's most tender places and they just so happened to be quiet, peaceful times with Arthur. 

You had admited to yourself you'd gone and fallen hard for the man right after he got back from Guarma. Your descent into this unriquited path had been smooth and somewhat tricky. However, Arthur remained oblivious all along to whatever feelings were growing into you.   
But truth be told, the first step he took towards your heart, even while being clueless about it, had been that god awful hot day back in Blackwater when you caught him calling Boadicea in a sing song voice, carrying a handful of flowers that Jack had asked him to pick up for the necklace he was planning to make for his momma. 

A wave of joy washed over your droused state as you remembered him braiding one of the flowers in the mare's mane, all while humming a song you'd heard plenty of times around the camp fire.

The memory was warm, bewitching even, alluring you into the last shreds of light your soul could muster before exiting this existence for good. Your actual surroundings were slowly fading, giving way to that warm sunset back in that creek by the great plains.

“Ar-thuur" you called, mimmicking his singing tone from before “don't I get a flower in my hair too?” 

“Jesus miss!” he said nervously, almost crawling out of his own skin in embarassment “You scared me girl”   
You smiled, loving the way how the beautiful shades only the last breaths of light in a clear sky could paint made him almost golden. Almost. His sweat covered skin was glistening and his dark long john's were clinging to his bulging muscles, the shadows of the setting sun seemed to make them more pronunciated, like tiny mountains underneath his skin.

But his eyes were something else. They embeded those stray rays of sunshine that seeped through the trees, giving the pair a very particular warmth, in spite of it's shade of blue. You could swear they were about to swallow you whole, and you knew they could. You mused to yourself, wondering if his hungry eyes were the reason why he could see the world so beautifully, attentive to every little corner and shadow.

Your heart wasn't beating any faster, in spite of how this sight made you feel warmer in all the right places. You felt peaceful, safe and somewhat cherished by life, since you and Boadicea were the only living souls witnessing Arthur at his best.

You've never seen him that comfortable in his own skin. You've never been really comfortable in your own either.

You couldn't help but wonder whether or not you would be comfortable under his skin, beneath that muscle wall of a man. Beneath his naked skin and inside his chest, and marking the skin of his back as if pouring onto it your choking feelings through the stinging whispers of your blunt nails. 

Yes, nails can talk when one is oblivious to one's heart. So can tongues, mouths, teeth and legs.

That's how you knew you wanted to be food for his hungry eyes. And that's how you knew you wanted to lure him into your newest discovery.

“Here" you said, picking up one of the flowers that had escaped his grasp and tucking it behind his ear, not losing the chance to briefly brush his soft hair “It suits you more than you’ll ever know"

He laughed heartly and put an arm around your shoulders “You see, I'm scretly a flower person my lady, but don't tell the boys at camp about it, you know they will tease me" he said, as if confinding his deepest, darkest secreets, moving just a little bit closer to your ear, whispering “And Micah will be picking rose thorns out of his ass for days"

You laughed and rejoyced in the heat that emanated from his body. It was not an intimate touch and it didn't have to be. The sunset was already upon you, but right now you had your own source of warmth and hope. In the deep corners of your mind, you wondered if once his heart is laid bare, as bare as you wanted his skin to be, life would adquire more of those sunset shades.  
His arm let go of your shoulder, much to your frustration, as he started rummaging through his saddle bags, pulling a beautiful purple flower that matched the one on Boadicea's mane.

“Here” he said, approaching you once again, braiding quickly a few strands of your hair and tucking the flower just above them. You were rather surprised by his braiding skills that could easily best your own “Now all the distinguished ladies of our gang have matching flowers in their hair"

“I am floored to share such an honor with this magnificent lady" you smiled your best smile, and complimented his braiding skills, stating how much of a welcome surprise they were. His answer was a brief explanantion about how braiding your mount's tail and mane might help prevent unwanted and sometimes harmful things to get attached to them. 

Once again, you caught yourself stranded in your own admiration for him. You realized that Arthur could be mistaken for the sun itself, glourious, nurturing and relentless in his own way, and this realization started to shape into one of it's dreadful consequences. 

Fear. The cliche fear of falling in love too fast with an outlaw in an unforgiving world. And your answer to this new prospect was nothing but blunt denial.

You approached the mare, looking up at Arthur, silently asking for permission to pet her. With a brief nod he indulged you and sat down on a nearby log.   
Boudicea got restless and puffed a few breaths on your face, earning a couple of amusing chuckles from her companion.

“Always a cryptid this one, has one hell of a temper but still manages to be the most reliable horse I've ever had" he said, lighting his cigarrette “The most beautiful too"

“Just like her distinguished rider if you don't mind me saying" you said, as you turned to face him, only to be surprised by another hot breath puffed right on your ear. You looked back to see Boadicea stomping her hooves on the ground as if demanding you to keep petting her.

“And just like her newest friend" he replied a smug smile lighting up his features

“Are you charming me Mr. Morgan?"

“Well" he said, throwing the butt of his cigarrette on the ground standing up “It's either that or I'm calling you a horse. I'll leave it to you, to decide, my lady" 

“If the latter is true, do I get to choose which side of your face to slap?”

“Sure" he answered in between laughs “But don't go leaving hoove prints on my face ya hear?”  
You loved this. You could do this for days, build a home in his witty comebacks. It was only fair since he already had your heart avaiable if he ever need any shelter.

So you indulged yourself into a little bit more of friendly teasing, making an exagerated impression of a high society lady smelling her her unworthy servant.  
“Right now, my dear, all I am hearing is a neighing horse in dire need of a bath"

“Oh my appologies princess. I was just doing the courtesy of speaking in your native language" he played along, managing to do an elaborated noble greeting with a belt grab.

After that day, you both were dancing around each other to a song of blind and stubborn notes. There was nothing but frustrated need and untold things, until you both ran out of time and were flooded by the prospect of eminent death.

The sound of your laughters floated around as a cloud of joy, and just like that your surroundings were giving in to beever hollow and it's crushing atmosphere.

You were back on your cot, pale and ruined and he was sitting on the ground by your bed, coughing his lungs out. He couldn't be mistaken by the sun no more. Or maybe he could. Maybe now Arthur had become the sun after the night made itself known.

With whatever strength you had left, you managed to lightly run your fingers through his hair, which drove his attention towards you. 

“Hey there darling, I’ve missed you" his voice was low but raspy and a bit out of breath, as if he'd been running without moving.

You weren't exactly friends, although your relationship was seasoned with a good amount of friendship. You weren't lovers due to the emotional constipation that made you two hostages. You were oblivious together and that should count as a relationship, Mary-Beth once said. You were his darling and he was the little sommersalt your heart would do everytime he did call you so.

But right now it wasn't jumping, and you couldn't really say there was any hapiness in knowing it was still beating. Because everything should have ended in hanging dog ranch. Because you didn't want to see him die.

Whatever light that was above you now, the moon, the sun, the butt of his cigarrete or the flames of hell approaching, was fading and you were fading along  
You didn't want him to see you leaving like this  
“I'm not gonna be here for long Arthur" you answered, your voice faint and foreing to yourself

“Neither am I, girl.” He sighed, frowning even further. “Neither am I"

“What's that mean?” you asked, trying to come closer to him and failing, forgetting for a second about the weekness that had made home in your body. 

“Tuberculosis. I'm living by stolen breaths.”

“So you dying"

“Pretty much. No reason lying to you now"

“So am I.”

You wanted to cry until your limp body could float away in the tears, you wanted to scream in pain until your lungs had managed to dig their way out of you ribcage and fall on the floor. Maybe then Arthur would pick them up and store them in his chest. Aftet all, if he was living by stolen breaths, he might as well live by borrowed lungs. 

But none of that was possible, and that lack of porpose was exactly what made you blurt out in that faint horrible voice the heaviest words of your life.

“You know I love you right?" 

His face was torn apart by pain, grief and frustration. Tears were about to jump off his eyes. He was saying something but your senses were once again fading and his words were blurred but the fierce grasp of his hands around yours made whatever he was saying clear to what remained of your touch. 

“See you soon" you whispered and then you were no more.


	2. Chapter 2

Breathing was hard but the sun setting behind those hills and mountains was a good distraction from the pain. There were more colors in the sky than he cared to count, from orange to purple, from pink to that odd shade of blue that stood as a fading barrier between day and night.

Arthur never thought that a sunset could feel like a wall between two worlds. He never really gave the possibility of afterlife a second thought, afterall people always said that men like him don't get to spend eternity in any sort of paradise. But your last words planted a little seed of hope in his heart, even though death was probably carrying you to a place very far away from the one he's been heading for a long time now. 

Closing his eyes, he allowed his heart to gather the last shreds of hope, letting go of whatever he'd been holding onto that tied him to this life, and with all the peace that a doomed man could muster, Arthur slipped into that feeling of being too tired to breathe.

The sun's warmth was gone but so was the cold breeze of the upcoming darkness.

Dying wasn't exactly what he expected. There was this everlasting feeling of being embraced by love itself. Every second seemed to be a welcome return to a long lost home he'd never really get to know in his lifetime. 

A a soft neigh followed by a puff of breath right onto his face pulled him back to his senses. Opening his eyes, he couldn't help but smile at the mare staring him back as if asking what took him so long to come home.

He'd almost forgotten how her black coat glinted in the sunlight, which surprised him even further because hey, who would've guessed that there's sun in the afterlife. 

"Hey there" he said, sitting up and touching her forehead with his own, caressing the sides of her head and acknowledging that he could still feel, and if nothing, touching felt even a bit more intense, as if he were touching the very bond he shared with Boadicea "I've missed you so much, girl"

Arthur couldn't help but notice the blue flowers that had been carefully braided in her mane, reminding him of that afternoon in blackwater when you came barreling in his most sacred ritual and ended up becoming part of it too. He missed it, he missed you.

"Hope you've missed me too, son" 

He turned his head to look at the source of that voice, known by often carrying wisdom, tales and good memories in the past.

"Hosea" a genuine smile painted his features at the sight of the elder man. Rising up to his feet, Arthur made his way to his welcoming arms.

Touching another human spirit was still a little too much for him though. As much as it did feel good, Arthur was still a little uneasy about the whole afterlife affair. He let go of his father figure, after that much needed embrace, taking his time to look at him properly. Hosea seemed to be somewhat younger than what he remembered from those last months. Long gone were the fragile appearance of old age, yet his hair was still silver, which made a slightly amused look cross Arthur's face.

"Wondering about the gray, I believe" he chuckled, running a hand through his hair "Bessie likes it, so I decided to indulge her"

"Bessie is here?" Arthur inquired, his voice going one octave higher than usual

"Yes, she very much is. We all are. Met Eliza and your little boy too in my first moments here. They are doing very well, Isaac is growing up into a fine young man” he gestured around to their surroundings. “But first you must find your own heaven"

“What? Isaac is growin’ up? And Eliza how is she? Jesus Christ Hosea how does this place works?” he sounded desperate and confused, as he truly was, but the possibility of Isaac and his mother having a new life, away from all the trouble Arthur could have brought upon them, was everything he had hoped for many years.

"You can find them later, they are not very far away from here, even though distance isn’t a concern anymore. But first you must find your own place. It isn't safe to roam through this land without happy memories to go back to" Hosea answered, with a stern look on his face

"My own heaven? How do I get a piece of heaven if I done nothin' but mayhem my whole life" The sour expression that took over his face showed that not all wounds heal with death. 

"You see Arthur, death doesn't give damn about our foolish mundane perceptions. Death, this place, is about keeping your heart warm, and you did it. Good deeds mean nothing when done out of fear or habit, and they mean even less when done only to fix the bad ones. Redemption only comes for those who don't seek it." He paused and took a deep breath, as if admiring a long ridden path. "The thing is, the universe doesn't care about your image of yourself, it doesn't really matter what you think you deserve" 

Resienging to his newly found fate, Arthur sighed in both relief and defeat. It was refreshing to know that someone else, or something else, thought of him as a soul deserving of a proper rest. And yet, the path to self forgiving was still long and tortuous.

'So I better start now'

"Well then how do I find this heaven?"

"Boadicea already knows where it is" Hosea answered, giving Arthur a knowing smile "But be careful with the places you visit, Arthur. This place isn't entirely good, some of us have forgotten kindness in life and still haven't remembered it in death. Now I must go back to Bessie, I will visit you soon enough"

Arthur tipped his hat as a silent farewell to Hosea, still too afraid to say the words, to wish him a good return and never see the man again. Mustering a very familiar strength that he thought gone with death, he made his way to mount Boadicea. However, the mare refused his advances, and Arthur could swear that she'd given him a smug look, as if saying use your own legs human, this path is yours, not mine.

With that, Boadicea rushed forwards, quickly setting a gallop, challenging Arthur to keep up with her pace. And so he does, fearing that his lungs might give in just like in that goddamn mountain, but soon he found out that in this new dimension, breathing is merely a habit and running wouldn't consume his energy.

He couldn't help but notice that the sky seemed to go backwards in time. Within what felt like minutes, maybe hours, the sun had risen on the west and set on the east more times than he could count, as if he had to go back to a specific moment in time. The closer he got the unknown spot Boadicea was leading him to, the slower the days would slide in reverse through the sky. 

By the time the mare slowed to a trot and the shore of a lake came to his sight, orange was smeared all over the sky, mixed with shades of pink and purple, and of course, that odd shade of blue that stood in between day and night. 

When he spotted your silluet sitting on that log by the lake he just knew it, all suddenly made sense, as if a very dense veil had been removed too quickly. Arthur felt as if his mind had been blinded by a very bright light. His legs were moving by themselves in your direction, his body knew what to do way better than his brain.

'Can I still call this a body? Do I still have a brain?'

A hand in the middle of his chest made him stop abrubtely, as if holding him on place. 

"Going for a swim cowboy? Be careful, I'm not here long enough to know if ghosts can drown." 

Your voice pulled him back to earth, or back to the great beyond. Your touch felt different, he was enthralled by something he couldn't quite understand. You ruled over all of his senses. Your voice conquered his ears. The sight of you, his eyes, the firm hand on his chest made his skin beg for more, a very distinct smell penetrated his nostrils and he could swear he could taste you. 

"You feel this too?" Arthur asked, his voice deep but slightly faint, as if he had just wake up from a very long dream.

"I do" you whispered "I'm afraid to hold you, I fear it would be just too much"

"I guess there's only one way to find out, darlin'" he answered, eager but insecure, making his way towards you with unsure steps, testing the ground just to be sure it wouldn't fade beneath his feet.

He pulled you into his arms, your head resting on the crook of his neck as your own arms circled his waist. You both found out that embracing wasn't too much. It was just enough, just right, but prompted you both to discover even deeper.

He could feel his heart beating, punching holes in his chest. Hell he didn't even know it was possible to have a heartbeat after death. There was air in his lungs again, after god knows how long, and the air felt like you, everything around him felt like you.

It all feels like being alive but somehow just more.

"Well, we are still in one piece" Arthur murmured against your temple, daring to leave a faint kiss behind to follow his words.

"We are" you giggled, managing to hold him even closer.

You felt him tensing beneath your hands,

"I need to tell you something"

Anxiety took over you. Was he leaving? Was he upset about having to stay here? This thoughts just wouldn't leave you alone, but you tried to push them to the back of your mind in order to not alarm him.

"I-I don't- I didn't-" Arthur took a deep breath and tried once again "I didn't get to answer what you said to me before you...you know"

"Before I what?" You asked, looking up to him in genuine confusion.

"Died, before you died." He cleaned his throat, saying those words felt like swallowing a bullet. He feared it could happen again. "I didn't get to answer you. I think it's fairly obvious right now, but I love you too."

Breaking from your embrace, Arthur put his hands on your shoulders as if trying to steady himself. Those words didn't exactly slip off his tongue. Saying them had costed him something he couldn't quite understand. It had been so long since the last time he'd been in such a vulnerable position. 

"I was so angry for so long, I'm not gonna lie." He proceeded, managing to look calm and exhasperated at the same time "I was angry at you for waiting too long to say it, for exposing yourself like that and dying a dumb death, I was angry at myself for denying it for too long, because I thought you deserved better, but look how all that turned out."

He laughed a mirthless laugh, making a vague gesture with his hand in an attempt to reveal shades of bitterness and cruelty that didn't belong to this new world, he needed to let them go and maybe sharing was the way to do so. 

"I don't know if you'll still have me, but this needed to be said. I don't think Boadicea led me here just to make a fool of myself again, so there is hoping."

"Well, you're right, Boadicea didn't mislead you in this one" you shrugged, and with a smug smile curving the corners of yours lips you closed the space between you two. "Untill death do us part, I guess"

You could feel his warm breath on your face, even though you didn't really know if breathing in this world meant the same as breathing in the old one, but it made a chill roll down your spine nonetheless. You couldn't help but stare at his lips, only to notice that his eyes were always glued to yours. Before you noticed, you were brushing yours against his, as if testing the waters before diving in an unknown lake. 

Arthur felt like he had been doused in gasoline and set on fire. 

He responded to your touch by gently kissing your bottom lip, caressing your sides and pulling you flush against him. As light as the kiss was, you could feel how soft his lips were, and it made you feel a wave of relief. The softness of his lips were enough proof that this was real, that his lips weren't smeared with the blood of his coughs anymore. He was healthy, warm and strong. You could feel the muscles of his back moving as his hands trailed up and down your frame. Truth be told, Arthur, overwhelmed as he was, didn't really know what to do with then, all he wanted was to too touch you everywhere, feel everything he longed to feel when he was alive. You took his movements as a cue and deepened the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck and tangling a hand in his hair. 

You licked his lips slightly, asking for entrance, and he conceded. You let out a shaky breath through your nose as your tongue explored his mouth. Your hands slided from his back to his sides, running your nails lightly through the fabric of his shirt. You wanted more, you wanted him, all of him, but didn't really know how to get it.

He let out a low moan, one of his hands making its way down from your waist to rest on your backside, pushing you against him once more. He felt certain needs arise, ones that he thought belonged only to the realm of the living. 

Trying to calm himself down before things reached a new level that he wasn't entirely comfortable about yet, Arthur broke the kiss.

"What now?" He asked, breathless and excited. 

"This isn't a place for us to rest, this is sort of a second chance." your voice was low and lulled him into a very welcome peaceful state "I think we better take it."

Well, happiness hit him like a freight train.


End file.
